Effect of Salinity and Some Chemical Properties of the Under- and Intercanopy Soils on Range Plants in a Dry Region of Southern Iran

Abstract

The present study was conducted in a dry region in southern Iran to evaluate the effects of different Atriplex species on the salinity, soluble ions, and some of the other chemical properties of under-and intercanopy soils. The research region was divided into five separate sites with vegetation cover of the range plants Atriplex lentiformis, A. nummularia, and A. halimus (all newly introduced species) and A. leucoclada and Salsola rigida (both native species). Four 1-kg soil samples (from under-and interspaces of the canopy of tested plants, each in two depths of 0 -10 and 10 -40 cm, were taken from each of the plant sites and analyzed for different determinations. The study was conducted as a factorial experiment in a complete random design with six replicates.Regardless of distance and depth, different plant species resulted in different salinity (based on the EC values of saturation paste) and soluble cation contents in the tested soils. The results showed that the increase in EC values were associated with decreases in pH values of the tested soils.The SAR values followed exactly the same pattern as EC values and Na þ concentrations. In the case of soluble anions, the Cl 2 contents followed exactly the same pattern as the EC values of the tested soils, which indicates that the salts are predominantly chlorides of various cations (especially Na þ ). The OM and total nitrogen (N) contents of the undercanopy were greater than those of the interspace and those of the surface layer were greater than those of the sublayer. Moreover, although the phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) contents of undercanopy and interspace were not significantly different from each other, the P and K contents of the surface layer 15 were greater than those of the subsurface layer. As seen from the results, except for the effect of depth of Mn contents and the interactive effect of distance and depth on Fe contents, neither the single effects (other than plant species) nor the interactive effects were significant on microminerals of the tested soils.Moreover, copper (Cu) was particularly antagonistic toward iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn).

Organic Carbon and Alkalinity Increase in Topsoil After Rangeland Restoration Through Atriplex nummularia Plantation

“…The observed 81% increase in EC is rather similar in magnitude to the 125% and 178% changes measured by Sharma & Tongway () in the 0–7·5 cm layer of two different plantations and to the 148% reported by Sameni & Soleimani () for the 0–10 cm layer. No significant EC increase was instead observed by Zucca et al .…”

Changes of Selected Soil Properties in a Floodwater-Irrigated Eucalyptus Plantation in the Gareh Bygone Plain, Iran

“…It is clear that these nutrients followed the distribution pattern of the soil OM in the two locations, those under canopy sites were well pronounced. Similar observations have been reported for different plant species in arid and semiarid regions (Tiedemann and Klemmedson, 1973ab;Bernhard-Reversat, 1996;Virginia & Jarrell, 1983;Karimian & Ramzi, 1990;Mazzarino et al, 1991;Sameni & Soleimani, 2006). Callardo (2003) stated that elements such as N, which cycle mainly through biological processes, show different spatial distribution compared to elements such as P, which cycle through both biological and geological processes.…”

Canopy influences of five range plant species on the redistribution of chemical forms of iron in a calcareous soil

“…For all species, the value of OM content was higher in the soil beneath canopies as compared to the interspace soil (Table 2). Higher OM contents of the soil under canopies of different Atriplex species in comparison with the interspace soil have been reported by Sameni and Soleimani (2007). Khanmirzaei et al (2009) observed that the content of OM beneath Eucalyptus trees was higher than between them.…”

“…Sameni and Soleimani (2007) observed that increases in EC values beneath Atriplex species were in association with a decrease in pH values. The availability of Fe is low in high-pH soils (Ghasemi-Fasaei et al 2005), and lower pH values in soil under canopy can enhance the availability of this element.…”

“…Email: ghasemif@shirazu.ac.ir Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 2014http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03650340.2014 soils and plant composition among five canopy types and observed that soil textural class did not change among canopy types, while soil loss-on-ignition and moisture content differed significantly among some canopies. Sameni and Soleimani (2007) observed that OM and nitrogen (N) contents in soil under the canopy of range plants were higher than those in interspace soil. However, Gomez-Aparicio et al (2005) reported that shrubs canopy did not cause significant effects on physical soil properties, total N and phosphorus (P), moisture, and OM contents of soil.…”